


The Ballad of the Infinite Spirit

by faexsolis



Series: dancing in the moonlight ('til the end of time) [2]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, F/F, Vignette, at this point this is basically a sapphic creation myth, god!jihyo obviously, hopefully this is half coherent lmao, i went a little crazy with the fantasy worldbuilding, light!2yeon, moon goddess!mina, shadow!samo, sun goddess! chaeyoung
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:06:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27431722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faexsolis/pseuds/faexsolis
Summary: A tale of two worlds, hopelessly disparate, yet perfectly complementary.
Relationships: Hirai Momo/Minatozaki Sana, Im Nayeon/Yoo Jeongyeon, Myoui Mina/Son Chaeyoung
Series: dancing in the moonlight ('til the end of time) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2004139
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	The Ballad of the Infinite Spirit

**Author's Note:**

> wow ahaha im just going to ignore the fact that this has been sitting in my drafts for the last 4 months lmao
> 
> anyways uh this is a little bit of a prequel (?) of my other work [the legend of the black swan](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567079) (you don't have to read it to read this but i would highly suggest you check it out for context)
> 
> disclaimer: nothing in this work reflects the idols mentioned irl at all - this is purely a work of fiction

In the beginning was only the Abyss, suffocating and all-consuming. She grew without order, inherently arrhythmic and unbalanced, cruel and discordant, as chaos swept the Realms. 

But from the entropy emerged the Oracle of Light. Gentle and benevolent, she pledged to reverse the anarchy of the Abyss as she lifted her palms to the skies, confining the Abyss's evils to the Nether Realm. Using the sun and the stars, she lovingly crafted the two Upper Realms: the Physical and Spiritual Realms. 

With the strong earth of the Physical Realm, she molded the first mortal race - a sturdy force of women, strong and stubborn as the earth itself, yet just as diligent and dependable. 

At first, they wandered the lands that the Oracle of Light had gifted them, taking in one wonder after another, yet were inexplicably attracted to the modest beauty of the earthen plains that stretched across the land for miles to come. There they settled, patiently sowing the seeds of a civilization, cultivating the firm soil that packed their lands. From this emerged the Kingdoms of Ephemera: a clan of fiefdoms, all united by their agrarian tendencies and devotion to the Oracle of Light.

But enticed by the inevitable desire to venture past the confines of their farmlands, a singular woman, hailing from the tip of the northern clan, grew vehemently ill. Having ingested a few poisonous berries during her travels, ripe and sweet in the midsummer harvest, she fell to the earth, her fragile form threatening to fracture into a thousand pieces.

Her tribemates, their intuition flaring with alarm, rushed to save her, but their treatments were to no avail. In despair, they cried for their loving creator to save them.

The Oracle of Light descended into the mortal plane, horrified at the damage that had been done. She took in the woman: her soul was tethered to her body, whilst her physical form remained still, unbreathing. It was evident to the Oracle what needed to be done.

She gathered the woman’s soul, taking her by the hand, and severed her connection to the Physical Realm. Together they walked, forging a new path for the mortals to follow: the path to the afterlife.

It was deep into the Spiritual Realm that the Oracle paused, releasing the woman’s hand. She reassured the woman, and took her under her apprenticeship, teaching her the delicate art of enchantment.

As more mortals fell, the Oracle guided them to the afterlife, fashioning centers of education so as to allow the spirits to develop their skills, and as the population expanded, the centers did as well, finally burgeoning into the fantastical Kingdoms of Eternity.

The Oracle of Light governed the Realms righteously and peaceably, ultimately begetting two beautifully utopian kingdoms - one of fae and mystique, and one of solidity and pragmatism.

But blinded by the glamor of the Realms, the Oracle allowed herself to fade, to succumb to the temptation of non-interference. It was this non-interference that the Abyss quickly learned to manipulate: unassuming streams of her consciousness would worm their way to the minds of the mortals, turning them to sin, debarring them from attaining the powers of enchantment in the Kingdoms of Eternity.

The Oracle of Light, aghast at what she’d done, quickly looked to mitigate the situation: she worked faster, more efficiently, even using her most exemplary students as educators. But as the mortals multiplied indefinitely, she struggled to retain order in both worlds. Tendrils of the Abyss were known to sneak their way into the minds of the mortals, poisoning them, and there was hardly anything the Oracle could do to stop them.

The Oracle of Light, kind as she was, could not allow her cherished mortals to fall prey to the Abyss.

From the scraps of the kingdoms, she sculpted her envoys: one to preside over the one half of the Earth’s rotation, and one to guide the other. She titled them the Empresses of Day and Night, and allowed them to take over the Upper Realms.

The Oracle of Light then focused her attention on the straining Abyss, strengthening the bonds of her prison and patching up the places that she had weakened. It was a daunting task - the Abyss was far too quick for the Oracle to keep up with - but she persisted, always managing to keep the Abyss confined.

However, the Abyss’s damage was irreversible. Mortals upon mortals had fallen to her sin, the temptation spreading like wildfire. It was only a matter of time before the Empresses fell as well.

The Empresses of Day and Night battled valiantly against the dark tendrils of the Abyss, saving thousands from her wrath, but her darkness was simply too much, for they too ultimately fell to her temptation.

The Empresses fell deeply and irrevocably in love, their pure hearts merging as one, as they pursued a tryst. Long nights spent together, reveling in their passion, the Empresses explored each other, their understanding of each other growing, completing them.

As the Empresses became inseparable, the Oracle of Light grew weaker and weaker, her grip on the Abyss loosening with time. Whilst the worst of the Abyss remained imprisoned, her lesser sins were released into the mortal world. 

Famine and strife wracked the Kingdoms of Ephemera, pitting the once amicable fiefdoms against each other in a brutal war of desperation, whilst the Empresses, intoxicated in each other, remained oblivious to it all.

The Abyss, mustering the last of her strength, successfully planted a seed of rebellion, a whisper in the back of the Empresses' minds, that encouraged them to overthrow the Oracle of Light. As the seed burgeoned, the Empresses were convinced in the Oracle’s corruption.

The Oracle of Light herself knew it was a losing battle - she could see it in their eyes. Blinded by their infatuation, the Empresses rushed forth, engaging in a siege of the ages. With the guidance of the Abyss, the Empresses’ troops prevailed; the Oracle of Light was forced into submission, her cosmic power tethered to a husk of a body until she exhausted it in an everlasting cycle of reincarnation. 

Overjoyed after a long and arduous battle, the Empresses of Day and Night reveled in their victory, holding feasts upon feasts in celebration, but the Abyss’s inevitable anarchy lurked beneath their triumph. 

As the Empress of Day naturally assumed leadership of the Upper Realms, resentment filled the Empress of Night, quickly morphing into the lust for power. She conspired to defenestrate her former lover, organizing a coup with her Shadow Warriors - an elite force of militants who were irrevocably loyal to their queen - with the intent of eradicating her adversary once and for all.

Bloodshed and carnage swept the Realms, as the Empresses of Day and Night clashed in a terrible war. Gilded chariots of gold and onyx were drawn by horses of crackling energy, and banners of apricot and magenta unfurled in the wind, each emblazoned with the symbol of a great nation. Warriors fell left and right, blasted by the charged bolts of magic, until none but a handful of battered warriors and the Empresses themselves remained. 

Still undeterred, the Empress of Night brandished her twin katanas and went after the Empress of Day herself. 

Stealing away in the dead of night, she stalked through the bloodstained grass, silent and predatory, her eyes fixed on her sleeping target. Slipping past the softly snoring guard, the Empress of Night allowed the shadows of the night to obscure her.

Eyes glinting in the dark, the Empress of Night observed the sleeping form of the queen. The steady rise and fall of her chest was peaceful, her closed eyes almost innocuous, and for a heartbeat, the Empress of Night felt a twinge of guilt resonate through her heart.

She easily shook it off as she hardened her stance, however, deciding on using a single onyx katana to finish the job. It would be an easy kill, perhaps the most easy kill in the entire war.

Licking her lips in anticipation, the Empress of Night all but slithered up to the sleeping queen, brandishing her weapon. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a moment before swinging the sword down.

“Halt.”

The onyx blade paused mere centimeters from the Empress of Day’s neck, as the ghostly whisper raised the hairs on the back of the Night Empress’s neck. She sheathed her katana, eyes keen and astute, as she took stock of her surroundings. There was no evident source of the whispery voice, but goosebumps still prickled against the Empress’s forearms. Shaking her head, she once again drew her sword.

“I warned you.”

The voice filled the Empress’s ears as she whipped her head around, struggling to detect a source.

“Who are you?” she breathed, acutely aware of the Empress of Day stirring beneath her.

A dry crackle of laughter grazed her ears.

“Who do you think?” the voice hissed. “The Oracle of Light, of course.”

The Empress of Night shuddered involuntarily, swinging her sword in a blind arc in an attempt to somehow dispel the spirit.

“You,” a voice coughed behind her. The Empress of Night spun around, internally kicking herself, as she strode forward, thrusting her sword under the queen’s chin.

“You will surrender,” the Empress of Night spoke, narrowing her eyes. “Give me full control of the Realms.”

Defiant reproach filled the eyes of the Empress of Day. “Never,” she coughed.

The Empress of Night gritted her teeth. “I will kill you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” the Empress of Day rasped, a half-smirk playing across her chapped lips.

Eyes set ablaze in fury, the Empress of Night lunged forward, slapping the Empress clear across the face.

“Mina,” the Empress of Day croaked, visibly shaken by the sudden violence. “Please. We can sort this out.”

The Empress of Night set her jaw, deflecting her former lover’s pleas.

“ _Mina,_ ” the Empress of Day repeated, her doe-like eyes large and wet.

“Don’t call me that,” the Empress of Night snapped, forcing down the lump in her throat.

The Empress of Day’s features reflected her consternation. “Why not? It _is_ your chosen name.”

The Empress of Night - Mina - studied her counterpart, taking in her every detail, from the dirtied hem of her nightgown to the fear reflected in her eyes.

“Chaeyoung,” she spoke, dropping her blade to her side. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because,” Chaeyoung said, “the woman I fell in love with would never act like this. This- this _desperation,_ this _greed_ \- where has it come from?”

“Easy for you to say,” Mina spit out, once again brandishing her sword. “You rule the high heavens! Everyone loves you. But I- I just-”

“Then kill me.” Chaeyoung replied. “Take my throne. But it won’t make any difference.”

Mina faltered, her grip on her katana loosening, as Chaeyoung reached out toward her.

“Mina, we could rule together. End this war. Rebuild the Kingdoms,” Chaeyoung coaxed, inching toward her trembling lover. “We could have a fresh start.”

Mina’s gleaming eyes reflected her doubt, her insecurity, as her sword began to droop.

“That’s right,” Chaeyoung spoke carefully, as if addressing a wounded animal. “We could be together again. They’d love us.”

Mina’s eyes hardened, and with a sickening start, Chaeyoung knew she had said the wrong thing.

“No,” Mina lunged forward, plunging her sword into the former’s sternum. “They’d love _you._ ”

Numb shock coursed through Chaeyoung’s veins as she stared blankly at the wave of red blooming from her chest. A small puff of air escaping her lips, Chaeyoung lifted her head to see Mina’s stoic form break.

The incriminating katana clattered to the ground, a splatter of russet consecrating the dirt floor of the hut, as the woman sank to her knees, aghast at what she’d done.

“Chaeng, I’m so sorry,” Mina whimpered, taking the other’s hands in hers. “I don’t know what overcame me, I-”

“Are you happy now?” Chaeyoung gasped, pulling Mina closer to her. “Finally happy now?”

Mina failed to respond, glittering droplets falling from her ashamed face. “I shouldn’t be.”

It was all Chaeyoung needed.

Mustering the last of her strength, the Empress of Day pulled out a jewel-encrusted dagger from the folds of her nightgown, and blindly thrust it forward into the Empress of Night.

The last thing she heard, before everything faded away, was the shocked gasp of her former lover.

-✩-

The Oracle of Light was enraged with her envoys. Betrayal and disgust simmered beneath her skin, threatening to boil over, as she watched her idiot lackeys slaughter each other under the pretense of love.

Love, she snorted. More like baseless infatuation.

A sort of raw fury possessed her, her talonlike nails digging into her skin, her mind racing a mile a minute, as she deliberated her future course of action. 

A curse, she finally settled upon. She'd curse them to the darkest corners of the world she had so lovingly crafted, spread as far apart as she could. If they really were in love, they’d be able to find each other in any form.

But it wouldn’t matter, because they would never find each other. The Oracle would make sure of it.

The incantation fell from her lips, low and steady, crescendoing to an otherworldly cry of raw, unbridled fury.

And the Empresses were reincarnated. Scattered across planes, destined to never cross paths once again.

But the loss of their guiding Empresses sent the Realms spiraling into chaos. Mortals and spirits alike ran amok, the rift between the worlds deepening with each passing moment, as the Abyss and Oracle of Light remained firmly imprisoned. 

Mortals ceased to leave their Realm even after passing, simply drifting about the Kingdoms of Ephemera aimlessly, as the spirits of the Kingdoms of Eternity lost their immortality. 

Those confined to the Nether Realm crawled their way up to the Physical Realm, terrorizing the mortals, hunting them for sport over and over again as they ceased to die.

The Oracle of Light knew she had to intervene.

She also knew she had to enlist the help of the Abyss. Apart, they nearly powerless - the Abyss's bonds had weakened enough to manipulate those around her, but not to set her free, and the Oracle's physical power had diminished significantly - but together, they could accomplish something.

However, the Abyss would never come to her aid. The Abyss fed off of the chaos, allowing it to bolster her power; she was only growing stronger as the world that the Oracle created fragmented before her own eyes. She shuddered to think about what that entailed for the balance of the world. 

Carefully crafting a plan of action, the Oracle approached the Abyss: weaving her streams of spiritual energy together, coalescing into a singular thread, pliant and flexible, she assumed a form that allowed her to filter into the Abyss’s prison. It was of utmost importance that she handle this with delicacy - the entire fate of the world rested upon her hands.

“Oracle,” the Abyss sneered, her amaranthine lips pursed in distaste. “Whatever brings you to my humble abode?”

“Abyss.” The Oracle gritted her teeth, forcing the smile on her face to remain pleasant. “It’s lovely to see you as well, after all this time.”

The Abyss snorted. “Cut to the chase. What is all this about?”

“The Realms are in ruins,” the Oracle began, choosing her words carefully. “If we want to have anything left for us, we need to intervene now.”

The Abyss quirked up an eyebrow. “How so? I’m thriving - I grow stronger every day, thanks to the foolishness of your minions.”

“But the balance of the world is at stake.” 

“What balance?”

The Oracle closed her eyes for a moment, battling the urge to scream. “You and I - we are sworn enemies, yes, but we are also opposite weights on the scale of the universe. We must counterbalance each other to ensure that the Realms remain balanced.”

The Abyss let out a bark of laughter. “I know, Oracle. It was but jest.”

“This is no time for humor,” the Oracle stated firmly, her delicate eyebrows furrowing. “We must mitigate-”

“Mitigate what?” the Abyss reclined back on her obsidian throne. “Things are going quite well for me. There is nothing to fix, at least for me.”

“Ah, but you fail to recognize opportunity,” the Oracle tutted, tilting her head at the Abyss.

“Opportunity?”

The Oracle smiled. “Opportunity.”

The Abyss leaned forward, arching a intrigued eyebrow. “Tell me about this opportunity you speak of.”

“I will give you control of the Nether Realm,” the Oracle said, careful as to not lay all of her cards down at once. “You can wreak whatever havoc you’d like, as long as it remains confined to the Nether Realm.”

“A tempting offer,” the Abyss’s lips twisted. “But I’m afraid I cannot help you. I grow stronger day by day - I have no need to confine myself to the Nether Realm.”

Bile rose to the Oracle’s throat, her heartbeat quickening as she saw the flicker of disinterest in the Abyss’s eyes. But there was too much on the line - keeping the balance of the Realms required careful precision.

“You need my help more than I need your pitiful consolation reward,” the Abyss stated plainly, curling her lip upon observing the Oracle’s inner turmoil. “Unless there is a more tempting offer you can make me, please take your leave.”

The Oracle ran her tongue over her lips, deliberating her options. The Abyss’s help was crucial to her success, yet she couldn’t risk giving the Abyss too much freedom and potentially upsetting their balance of power.

“You drive a hard bargain,” she finally spoke. “But I have an offer for you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” the Oracle spoke, gaining confidence with her every word. “I will allow you both the Nether Realm and the Spiritual Realm - you may govern the souls, while I manage their physical manifestations.”

“You won’t _allow_ me anything,” The Abyss snorted. Stroking her chin, the woman paused for a moment to consider the offer. “But two Realms? That’s quite an offer - I will accept.”

The Oracle suppressed a sigh of relief. “Good. We must focus on bridging the rift between the Realms, then.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” the Abyss inquired, resting her chin on her palms. “What must I do?”

The Oracle laid her plan out: each would localize her power, consolidating it, focusing her streams of consciousness into a single, potent beam of raw energy. Honing in on the Realms, each would choose a protege, a champion to carry out their will.

And so they executed their plan: much to the Oracle’s surprise, both she and the Abyss followed through, and selected their champions.

It was these champions that ultimately brought the world together again - the Aureate Mage, chosen name Im Nayeon, controlled the Physical Realm, and the Penumbral Mage, chosen name Hirai Momo, took the Spiritual Realm. Each was bestowed with a legion of handmaidens, as well as an assembly of court advisors, and shared a Seer - a physical manifestation of the Abyss and Oracle’s streams of consciousness - imbued with the divine gift of Sight. 

Together, the Mages razed the existing race of mortals, fashioning a different Realm - that of the man and the woman. It faced its own trials and tribulations, but it far more peaceable than the radicalized reign of terror that had befallen the Realms before.

The world was comparatively a better place, balanced and harmonious to an extent, yet there was something missing.

The Mages were perplexed - the visceral feeling that they had, the strong intuition that something was horribly, horribly, wrong, refused to recede, to dispel itself.

Calling a meeting with the Seer - who lived at the edge of their Realms, a thin isthmus of land titled the Syzygy - the Champions demanded answers. All the Seer could tell them was that it was the incarnations of the former Empresses.

They had crossed paths.

The Mages were furious. They rose with resolution, with the intent of destroying the incarnations before any more damage could be caused.

Yet their consorts halted them.

Minatozaki Sana, the consort of the Penumbral Mage, refused to stand for the violence. It was unnecessary, she argued, it was unjust. The incarnations were but mortals, they knew no different. To destroy them would be to take innocent life.

Yoo Jeongyeon, the consort of the Aureate Mage, was in agreement. The mortals had no memory of their former lives. It would be best to separate them, to ensure that they never meet again - this way, they would still have a chance to live a full life, as they deserved.

The Mages begrudgingly agreed, holding back their initial instinct to destroy. Their consorts were right, after all - it wasn’t right of them to take innocent life.

Heeding the words of the Seer, the Mages knew that they could not meddle directly with human lives. This would throw off the balance between spirituality and nature, of the Abyss and Oracle of Light, sending the world spiraling into chaos.

Instead, the Mages focused in on their lives, breathing a stream of their consciousness into that of their dynasties: the incarnations, who had already been on opposing sides of an age-old dynastic split, were to be married off, to be sent off to their husbands’ palaces, far away from each other.

The Mages were satisfied - there was hardly anything that could fail them now. The incarnations would lose contact, would never be with each other again.

But they had spoken too soon. The incarnations - Son Chaeyoung, heir to an illustrious Korean dynasty, and Myoui Mina, a wealthy Japanese princess - had formed an unbreakable bond. They wrote each other much too often for the Mages’ comfort, their letters blossoming their already-strong friendship into something more. A softer sort of something, all honeyed words and swirling brushstrokes, yet something fierce, something they were both willing to die for.

It was only weeks later that they escaped, stealing away in the dead of night, as they rushed to meet once again. It was a bittersweet moment, one of much joy, yet confined to utter secrecy.

But the Mages, enraged with the turn of events, held another intervention - this time, they sent the princesses’ spouses after them, chasing them in a relentless pursuit of destruction. The princesses were taken care of.

Yet the cycle continued to repeat itself. Several centuries later, they came across each other as a soldier deployed in another country, scared and homesick, taking comfort in the eldest daughter of a modest household. It was war that separated them then.

Then came a more modern spin - that of a tomboyish pariah, outcast for her taste in appearance and preference in partner, as well as her ultra-feminine partner, a dancer with the elegance of a swan and the nature of a panther. Separated by societal scrutiny, they stayed firmly apart, and thus remained the balance of the world.

New ideologies rose to popularity, and the Realms were forgotten, but never faded away. The universal balance of power remained, stagnant and unchanging, as the world continued to develop and modernize.

Yet the story of the Sun and Moon persists to this day, that of two star-crossed lovers whose love spans across the dimensions of time and space, of romance and regret, in an unbreakable cycle of separation.

All until they break the cycle.

**Author's Note:**

> welp here's chapter 1, sorry if it's slow but it's setting up for the future chapters, hope yall like it tho
> 
> hmu in the comments or on my [tumblr](https://faexsolis.tumblr.com/)/[twitter](https://twitter.com/faexsolis) :D


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